Agenda item - Deregulation Act 2015 - Policy on Duration of Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver Licences and Private Hire Operator Licences

Agenda item

Deregulation Act 2015 - Policy on Duration of Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver Licences and Private Hire Operator Licences

Minutes:

Following on from the meeting held on 8th June 2015, whereby Members received a report that provided an update on the Deregulation Act 2015 and the licensing implications with regard to taxi and private hire licensing.  The Committee was asked to consider a further report, as a result of the Deregulation Act 2015.  The report highlighted the changes to the standard duration of hackney carriage and private hire driver licences and private hire operator licences.  The report also detailed two draft policies for Member approval; policy on the duration of hackney carriage and private hire driver licences and policy on the duration of private hire operator licences.

 

The Senior Licensing Practitioner, Worcestershire Regulatory Services (WRS) introduced the report and in doing so informed the Committee that the Deregulation Act 2105 received Royal Assent on 26th March 2015.  Section 10 of this Act related to the Council’s hackney carriage and private hire licensing functions and was due to come into force on 1st October 2015.  The effect of this change would be that standard (default) duration of a hackney carriage or private hire drivers’ licence issued by the Council would be three years and the standard (default) duration of a private hire operators’ licence would be five years.  Both licence types were currently issued by the Council for a period of one year.

 

Members were further informed that if an applicant requested to be granted a licence for one year, the Council would automatically deem it appropriate in the circumstances to grant a licence for this period, in line with the request of the applicant.  There were many reasons why an applicant may want to remain on a one year licence.  Inevitably the cost of applying for a three or five year licence would be higher, as the Council’s enforcement and compliance costs for the three year period would have to be covered by the licence fee.  Applicants may therefore prefer to avoid having to pay a larger licence fee every three or five years and may prefer to pay a lower fee each year.  Also applicants may not want a three year licence as they may not have decided if they intended to remain in the trade for the longer period of three years.

 

The Senior Licensing Practitioner, WRS, drew Members’ attention to the proposed fees:-

 

·         £92.00 - Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Drivers’ Licences current annual fee

·         £220 - Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Drivers’ Licence proposed three year fee

·         £290 – Private Hire Operators’ Licence current one year fee

·         £1,102 – Private Hire Operators Licence proposed five year fee

 

The Senior Licensing Practitioner highlighted that there was no requirement to advertise the proposed hackney carriage and private hire drivers’ licence fee, but the proposed fees to be set for the private hire operators’ licence required a public notice to be placed advertising the proposed fees for a period of twenty eight days. 

 

The Council’s Legal Advisor advised the Sub-Committee that in light of the information on fees and charges, as provided by the Senior Licensing Practitioner, WRS, she would ask Members to consider an additional recommendation with regard to the proposed private hire operators’ licence fees, following the required advertisement being placed.

 

Following a brief discussion it was 

 

RESOLVED:

(a)  that the draft policies on the duration of hackney carriage and private hire drivers licences and private hire operator licences, as detailed at Appendix 1 to the report, be approved, with effect from 1st October 2015; and

(b)  that, if following advertisement, objections were received to the proposed five year private hire operators’ licence fee of £1,102, those objections be brought back to the Licensing Committee to be held on 9th November 2015.

 

RECOMMENDED:

(a)  that, if following advertisement, no objections were received to the proposed five year private hire operators’ licence fee of £1,102, that Cabinet approve the revised fees and charges for inclusion in the fees and charges schedule.

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